Espáñate Learning Series 3: Verb

Learn to LOVE and SPEAK Spanish from Day 1!

VERBO SER AND ESTAR INTRO ( TO BE)

The English verb “to be” has two different forms in Spanish. We use the verb ser and estar. The easiest definition, with which we will start with is that the verb Ser is for permanent things and the verb estar is for non permanent things and location.

With permanent I mean for example physical description, nationality, type of person (meaning good person, bad person, intelligent, etc), proffesion and time

Ser o estar. Conjugate.

Ser = permanent verb.

Yo soy española. I am Spanish

Él es Americano. He’s american

Ellos son guapos. They are handsome

PRESENT FORM OF THE VERB SER

Yo soy / I am

Tú eres/ You are

Él/Ella es/ He/she/it is

Nosotros somos / we are

Vosotros sois / You guys are

Ellos son/ They are

Estar is used for moods, physical state (sick, healthy) and locations, like “she is in the kitchen”.

VERB ESTAR (TO BE)

Estar= non permanent verb.

Location

Mi coche está en mi casa. My car is in my house

Mi padre está feliz. My dad is happy

Mis amigos están en la cocina. My friends are in my kitchen

Estoy cansado. I’m tired.

ESTAR (verb in infinitive)

Yo estoy/ I am

Tú estás/ You are

Él/Ella está/ He/she/it is

Nosotros estamos/ We are

Vosotros estáis/ You guys are

Ellos están/ They are

Vocabulary. All these words change to feminine with an –a at the end (except grande)and become plural adding an –s.

Read the following sentences and understand the use of the verb estar.

Mi amigo está en mi casa. My friend is in my house

La chaqueta está limpia. The jacket is clean

El coche está en la casa. The car is in the house

El libro está en el salón. The book is in the living room

El vestido es nuevo. The dress is new

Los zapatos están sucios. The shoes are dirty

Los huevos están rotos. The eggs are broken

El coche está muy sucio. The car is very dirty

La casa está muy limpia. The house is very clean

The good thing about Spanish is that all the words are read as written, but at the beginning you have to learn the pronunciation of these letters. Following up is a youtube video in case you want practice the pronunciation of lesson 1.